The words, both ways

This site is written in English, but the industry is not conducted in it. If you know the bird as a chuza and the feed as wanda, this is the bridge — and if you are reading from outside Pakistan, this is what is actually said at the shed door.

Birds

What to call the animal, at every stage.

English	Urdu	Roman	Note
Hen · chicken · poultry	مرغی	murghi	The general word — covers the bird and the sector.
Rooster · cock	مرغا	murgha
Chick · day-old chick	چوزہ	chuza	Often written chooza. A DOC is a ‘one-day chuza’.
Broiler · commercial chicken	فارمی مرغی	farmi murghi	The everyday term for a commercially raised meat bird.
Native · village chicken	دیسی مرغی	desi murghi	Sells at a clear premium over farmi.
Layer	لیئر مرغی	layer murghi	Borrowed from English; universally understood.
Flock	فلاک	flock	Borrowed. Some farmers say ‘batch’.

murghi — The general word — covers the bird and the sector.
chuza — Often written chooza. A DOC is a ‘one-day chuza’.
farmi murghi — The everyday term for a commercially raised meat bird.
desi murghi — Sells at a clear premium over farmi.
layer murghi — Borrowed from English; universally understood.
flock — Borrowed. Some farmers say ‘batch’.

Feed & inputs

The things you buy — and 60–75% of what a bird costs.

English	Urdu	Roman	Note
Feed	ونڈا	wanda	The standard term. ‘Wanda rate’ is how feed prices are quoted.
Maize · corn	مکئی	makai	Poultry uses ~65% of Pakistan’s corn.
Wheat	گندم	gandum
Soybean	سویا بین	soya bean	Mostly imported; the main protein source.
Bran	چوکر	chokar
Water	پانی	paani	Intake caps feed intake — quality matters more than farmers expect.
Electricity	بجلی	bijli	Controlled sheds live or die on it.
Litter · bedding	بھوسا	bhoosa	Usually rice husk or chopped straw.

wanda — The standard term. ‘Wanda rate’ is how feed prices are quoted.
makai — Poultry uses ~65% of Pakistan’s corn.
soya bean — Mostly imported; the main protein source.
paani — Intake caps feed intake — quality matters more than farmers expect.
bijli — Controlled sheds live or die on it.
bhoosa — Usually rice husk or chopped straw.

Health

What you say to a vet, and what a vet says back.

English	Urdu	Roman	Note
Medicine	دوا	dawa
Vaccine · injection	ٹیکہ	teeka	Used for both the vaccine and the act of giving it.
Disease	بیماری	bimari
Mortality · deaths	اموات	amwaat	The daily number every farmer tracks, even on paper.
Newcastle disease	رانی کھیت	ranikhet	Endemic in Pakistan. The local name is the one in common use.
Veterinarian	ڈاکٹر	doctor	Poultry vets are usually just ‘doctor sahib’.

teeka — Used for both the vaccine and the act of giving it.
amwaat — The daily number every farmer tracks, even on paper.
ranikhet — Endemic in Pakistan. The local name is the one in common use.
doctor — Poultry vets are usually just ‘doctor sahib’.

Farm & operations

The place and the work.

English	Urdu	Roman	Note
Poultry farm	مرغی خانہ	murghi khana
Shed · house	شیڈ	shed	Borrowed. ‘Control shed’ means environmentally controlled.
Weight	وزن	wazan	What the bird is sold on.
Cycle · batch	بیچ	batch	One placement to sale, 35–45 days.
Farmer	کسان	kisan

shed — Borrowed. ‘Control shed’ means environmentally controlled.
wazan — What the bird is sold on.
batch — One placement to sale, 35–45 days.

Market & money

The words that decide whether a cycle made money.

English	Urdu	Roman	Note
Wholesale market	منڈی	mandi	Where live birds clear.
Commission agent · broker	آڑھتی	arthi	Sets the farm-gate price, controls weighing and payment.
Rate · price	ریٹ	rate	Borrowed and universal — ‘aaj ka rate kya hai?’
Profit	منافع	munafa
Loss	نقصان	nuksan
Expenses · costs	اخراجات	ikhrajat
Egg	انڈا	anda	Plural: ande. Quoted per dozen.
Dozen	درجن	darjan

mandi — Where live birds clear.
arthi — Sets the farm-gate price, controls weighing and payment.
rate — Borrowed and universal — ‘aaj ka rate kya hai?’
anda — Plural: ande. Quoted per dozen.

Industry jargon

English terms that get used constantly and explained rarely.

FCR: Feed conversion ratio — kilograms of feed to put on a kilogram of live weight. The single most useful number in broiler production, because feed is 60–75% of what the bird cost.
DOC: ایک دن کا چوزہ; Day-old chick. What you place at the start of a cycle.
Placement: Putting day-old chicks into a shed. Today’s placements are next month’s supply — a broiler cycle has a fixed length, so this is the most forward-looking number in the sector.
Break-even: The sale rate per kilo below which the cycle loses money. Equal to your total cost divided by total live weight — most farms only find it out after selling.
Farm gate: The price paid at the farm, before transport, commission and retail margin. A live bird leaves the farm near PKR 300/kg and reaches the consumer between 495 and 730.
Brooding: The first week, when a chick cannot regulate its own temperature and the shed is its thermostat. Day-7 weight should be four to four and a half times hatch weight.
Biosecurity: The measures that stop disease reaching the farm — vehicle control, dedicated boots per shed, all-in all-out, proper clean-down. Cheap, and it prevents the losses that end farms.
Integrator: A company that owns the parent stock, hatchery, feed mill and often the processing plant, and contracts out the growing. Around 10–15% of Pakistani broiler production.
Contract farming: The integrator supplies chicks and feed and pays a growing fee, taking the price and feed risk. Lower ceiling than independent farming, far lower variance.
Withdrawal period: The days that must pass between the last dose of a medicine and slaughter, so residues clear. Set by the product label, not by habit.
Culling: Removing birds that will not reach market weight. A bird that stops converting feed into weight is costing money every day it stays.
Stocking density: How much live weight a shed can carry, measured in kg per square metre — not in bird count. Summer ceilings are lower because heat load binds before floor space does.

A caveat

Usage varies by region and language. These are the terms most commonly heard in Punjab’s poultry belt, where most of Pakistan’s chicken is produced. Where a word is simply borrowed from English, we say so.

Breed names work the same way — every breed page lists what the bird is asked for as, in Urdu and Roman.

Breeds & strains →

46 TERMS